| Number of people with 
diabetes up has soared in the last decade THE number of people living with 
diabetes in the UK has risen by 59.8% in a decade, according to a new analysis 
by Diabetes UK. The new figures, extracted from official NHS data, show that 
there are now 3,333,069 people diagnosed with diabetes, which is an increase of 
more than 1.2 million adults compared with ten years ago when, in 2005, there 
were 2,086,041 people diagnosed with the condition. Diabetes UK is warning that 
this exponential growth in numbers reflects an urgent need for effective care 
for people living with diabetes, as well as highlighting the importance of 
prevention and that failure to act on this threatens to bring down the NHS. At 
present only 6 in 10 people with diabetes in England and Wales receive the eight 
care processes recommended by the National Institute for Health Care and 
Excellence (NICE). These are the checks identified as essential in high quality 
care for people with diabetes and include getting blood pressure and blood 
glucose levels measured, as well as the kidney function monitored, otherwise 
poorly managed diabetes can lead to devastating and expensive health 
complications such as kidney disease, stroke and amputation. This is why it’s 
critical that the government takes urgent action to ensure that everyone with 
diabetes receives the eight care processes, reducing their risk of further 
health complications and the costs these incur for the already strained NHS 
budget. Barbara Young, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK, said:- "Over the 
past decade, the number of people living with diabetes in the UK has increased 
by over 1 million people, which is the equivalent of the population of a small 
country such as Cyprus. With a record number of people now living with diabetes 
in the UK, there is no time to waste; the government must act now. We need to 
see more people with diabetes receiving the eight care processes recommended by 
NICE. It is unacceptable that a third of people living with the condition do not 
currently get these, putting them at increased risk of developing complications, 
such as amputations, heart attack or stroke. Diabetes already costs the NHS 
nearly £10 billion a year, and 80% of this is spent on managing avoidable 
complications. So there is huge potential to save money and reduce pressure on 
NHS hospitals and services through providing better care to prevent people with 
diabetes from developing devastating and costly complications. The NHS must 
prioritise providing better care, along with improved and more flexible 
education options, for people with diabetes now, and give them the best possible 
chance of living long and healthy lives. Until then, avoidable human suffering 
will continue and the costs of treating diabetes will continue to spiral out of 
control and threaten to bankrupt the NHS. Now is the time for action."   
 |  | Shake Up roadshow comes to 
Liverpool FAMILIES in Liverpool are being invited 
to get active when Change4Life and Disney’s 10 Minute Shake Up roadshow comes to 
Williamson Square, in Liverpool City Centre, on 15 August 2015 and Liverpool 
International Music Festival at Sefton Park, 30 August 2015.  This summer, 
Change4Life has teamed up with Disney to inspire kids to get active with the 
launch of the new, exciting 10 Minute Shake Up campaign featuring some of their 
favourite Disney characters and stories.  Dr Sandra Davies, Director of 
Public Health for Liverpool City Council, said:- "Levels of childhood 
obesity are unacceptably high in Liverpool with 4 in every 10 children in Year 6 
being overweight or obese. We need to get children moving, being active is 
beneficial for a child's physical, social and mental wellbeing. We know that 
being active can prevent lots of long term illnesses in future years including 
heart disease, diabetes, cancers. The 10 Minute Shake Up programme is great for 
introducing children to manageable, bite size chunks of activity and, best of 
all, it’s fun. With the summer holidays coming up, it’s ideal for parents and 
children to get active together."
 With a sprinkling of Disney magic, interactive activities and games for all 
ages, the 10 Minute Shake Up roadshow will encourage families to discover simple 
and fun ways to get moving during the summer holiday.   Children will 
be able to try out lots of new Disney inspired games and activities including 
Frozen 'Build a Summer Snowman' relay, the 'Stickball Blitz'
Big Hero 6 throwing game and a Toy Story 'target strike.' 
All the activities will be housed in a Change4Life 10 Minute Shake Up Zone so 
kids and their families can team up and complete the games together. The 
activities are designed to inspire kids to have fun being active, and give 
parents and grandparents lots of great ideas to keep their kids busy over the 
summer holidays.  This year's campaign is the 2nd time Change4Life and 
Disney have teamed up, following the success of last year's 10 Minute Shake Up 
campaign, which saw the nation’s kids get active for an extra 104 million 
minutes last summer. New this summer, there are lots of exciting 10 minute games 
and activities for kids to play as part of four Disney teams - Frozen, Big Hero 
6, Monsters or Toy Story. Kids can then try to help their team win by doing as 
many Shake Ups as they can over the summer.  Ricky Wilson, lead singer of 
Kaiser Chiefs and TV personality, who's supporting the campaign, said:- "I 
haven't always had the best understanding about the huge importance physical 
activity has on my own health and wider wellbeing, but since taking up a much 
more active lifestyle, the benefits that I've gained have been endless, it has 
helped with everything from singing to performing and even just getting out of 
bed or going to the shops. I'm supporting this summer's Change4Life campaign, 
and have helped create my own 10 Minute Shake Up game to help these guys 
understand the joys of being active and to ask parents to encourage their kids 
to enjoy the many health and social advantages that come with doing the right 
amount of physical activity. I’m excited to see how it goes and just hope I can 
keep up with the kids."
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